


Terrarium

by SpiritOfSakura



Series: Sanders Sides October Prompts 2020 [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Human, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Background Logic | Logan Sanders, Familiars, Fluff, Fluff without Plot, Gen, Inktober, Inktober 2020, No Plot/Plotless, Salamanders, Shriektober, Terrariums, swpom
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-06
Updated: 2020-10-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:41:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 973
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26853115
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpiritOfSakura/pseuds/SpiritOfSakura
Summary: Shriektober Day 1: TerrariumInktober Day 1: FishPatton helps Virgil set up a new tank for his salamander familiars.
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Logic | Logan Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Sanders Sides October Prompts 2020 [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1958905
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	Terrarium

“And...there!” Patton smiled, sending one more small pulse of warm magic into the soil around the last of the newly rehomed plants and giving it a little pat. Then he carefully pulled his hands back and out of the tank and turned towards Virgil. “That’s the last of them! So everything should be ready now for our slippery sal pals.”

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Sal pals?” he echoed with a little smirk.

“Yep!” said Patton, popping the “p”. “Slippery, slimy, salamanders pals! You could even say they’re…”  
  


“Don’t--”  
  


“Palamanders!”

“You ruined it,” Virgil said flatly, but he couldn’t hide the way his lips twitched upward just a bit as he fought back a smile. Patton counted that as a win.

The purple-haired man eyed the tank set up on the table, mentally running through his checklist to make sure everything was in place. They had the layers of rock, moss, and soil, plants, the heat lamp, the little pond, the water filter, a few branches and a hide log… Finding nothing missing or out of place, he finally nodded to himself. “Everything looks good to me, Pat,” he said. “You really outdid yourself with the plants this time. You sure it’s not too much?” He glanced over at the other with concern.

“I’m fine!” Patton reassured him. When Virgil only looked at him with a skeptical gaze, he continued. “No, really! These were all little guys, and it’s not like I was doing _that_ much--just giving them a little boost. I’m okay, honest.” He smiled warmly, and after a few moments more, Virgil finally just nodded and turned back to the tank with a grunt.

“Well...good, then. Just don’t overdo it.”

“I won’t,” Patton replied, a little softer. His brown eyes watched fondly as Virgil reached over to grab one of the plastic cups sitting next to the tank and lowered it down into the finished terrarium, tilting it gently onto its side. A little salamander soon poked its head out, looking around before scampering off to hide under the cover of a fern. Seeing the gentle smile on Virgil’s face, Patton couldn’t help echo it in his own expression.

It really was touching, how Virgil was always looking after the rest of them. He may act like he didn’t care, and he could be as prickly as a hedgehog when he wanted to be, but it was clear to everyone in their group that he held a lot of affection and care for all of them. Even Remus, whose loud and brash demeanor was...well, a lot, sometimes. Patton still had days where, as much as he tried, he just couldn’t keep up with Remus’s chaotic energy--though he had to admit that the wild magic that came with it didn’t exactly help matters.

And as if Patton’s thoughts had summoned him, the sound of a slamming door announced the boisterous man’s arrival. Virgil startled, nearly dropping the next salamander cup, and the sound of rapidly approaching footsteps were all the warning the two had before Remus burst into the room, his hair wild eyebrows singed. “Hey nerds!” he greeted, the sound of the front door opening and closing once more telling Patton that Logan must be home as well. “Whatcha up to? Finally taking my advice and starting a weed farm?”

“Uh, no, definitely not!” Patton replied, though he couldn’t help the slight chuckle that escaped him at Remus’s words. He’d been pestering Patton about _that_ particular idea for a couple weeks now. “We were just setting up Virgil’s new salamander tank!”

“Ooh, right, the salamanders!” Remus replied with a nod as he looked over at said tank. “I still say you should’ve gotten the fiery ones. I wonder how they taste? Bet they’re good barbecued!” He cackled, and Virgil just sighed as he gently tipped another salamander out of its cup.

“You are _not_ eating my familiars,” the hoodie-clad man groused. “Remember what happened when you got hold of Archimedes?”

“Oh, yeah--Lolo was _so_ pissed! I couldn’t get rid of that smell for _weeks_.” He grinned. “That was fun!”

“You also couldn’t go near Logan for weeks,” Patton pointed out. “And you know Virgil would probably make it even longer…”

“I absolutely would,” Virgil promised darkly. “You wouldn’t be able to get anywhere _near_ this house.”

Remus frowned. “...Well, shit,” he said with a pout. “Guess that plan’s a no-go.” He shrugged exaggeratedly. “Oh well!” Eyeing the tank again, he darted over to it, making Virgil jump and then glare at him. “That’s a neat little pond! I would’ve made it dick-shaped, though. Are you going to add fish?”

“We weren’t planning to--” Patton began.

“Boo, that’s no fun! Add some little fishies! Maybe they’ll fight to the death--or the salamanders will eat them! Oh, or you could add tadpoles so you could eventually have frogs, and then--”

“If you want fish,” interrupted Virgil, “you can get your own tank. Don’t touch mine.”

Remus’s eyes lit up in excitement. “You know what, I will! I’m gonna fill it with the most _badass_ fish you’ve ever seen, and they’ll kick your salamanders’ _asses_!” With a gleeful cackle, he rushed out of the room and back down the hallway. “Hey, Logan!” the two could hear him yelling. “Can we get a fish tank? It’s for science!”

Virgil sighed again, and Patton chuckled and gave his hand a sympathetic pat. “Logan will rein him in,” he reassured him. “Probably, anyway? He usually does.”

“He’d better,” was Virgil’s only reply, and Patton could only smile again as the man released the last of his salamanders into the tank and then sat back, content to watch them scamper about. Patton soon joined him, humming quietly as a loud laugh from Remus and exasperated scolding from Logan floated down the hall.

**Author's Note:**

> So...this happened. I decided I'd try out the whole "one prompt a day thing" that people usually do in October, and since I can't draw, I figured, why not do short little Sanders Sides fics? The initial prompts were a bit tricky, though, so this is the unplanned result.


End file.
